Put Scott Boras, Jeffrey Loria and David Samson in a room, and a reality television producer would salivate at the possibilities. It's a group with so much potential for dysfunction that Bravo might consider ditching The Real Housewives series just to acquire the rights.
The outspoken, bullish agent (Boras), the wacky owner (Loria) and president (Samson) have the kind of volatile personalities that could cause a kerfuffle in 2016.
The parties are making nice right now, with the Associated Press (h/t Fox Sports) indicating communication has gone smoothly between the Marlins and Boras, who represents three of Miami's five projected starting pitchers.
Jose Fernandez, though, could easily ripple the waters.
The Miami right-hander, a Boras client, had Tommy John surgery on May 16, 2014. In 11 starts last season, the 23-year-old pitched 64.2 innings and went 6-1 with a 2.92 ERA. He is Miami's most promising starter, and, as of now, the Marlins are reportedly in agreement with Boras on how to use Fernandez in 2016, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
Does this sound like the sequel to a classic Boras film?
Mets right-hander Matt Harvey, also a Boras client, missed all of the 2014 season after having Tommy John surgery. Then in 2015, the Mets were contenders. Agendas diverged.
While the Mets wanted Harvey to help their push to October, Boras was more focused on preserving Harvey's value for 2019, when he becomes a free agent.
The Mets wanted to modify the previously established 180 innings limit for Harvey. Boras wanted Harvey to be shut down once he hit the mark. So Boras did Boras-y things like posture publicly, causing a controversy at the worst possible time.
At one point, Harvey was even noncommittal about whether he would pitch in the playoffs. Eventually, he pitched in October.
For the situation to re-air in Miami, the Marlins have to compete—a far-fetched idea in a division that includes the Mets and Nationals. If in fact Miami doesn't contend for the playoffs, there's no reason to eclipse Fernandez's innings limit.
But expect the Marlins to improve on last season's 71-91 record. And just maybe, new manager Don Mattingly will be the voice needed to jump-start this club. Heck, last season we saw the Cubs' Joe Maddon and the Astros' A.J. Hinch guide their young teams to the playoffs a year earlier than expected.
If they are contenders, how could the Marlins brass, which has warred with its fans over the years, deny them October baseball? Shutting down Fernandez would concede any race.
Oh, and blowing Fernandez's innings limit would be so entertaining.
Boras isn't the only loudmouth of the group. Samson is also one to—let's put it nicely—overshare. In November, Samson told the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson that Fernandez rejected a multiyear contract offer in the months before he returned from his surgery.
Samson felt the need to break the privacy of those negotiations to gain public favor. The lava is already boiling. If Boras tries to tell the Marlins how to use Fernandez, we could see an irruption.
Neither Loria nor Samson would welcome Boras' opinion on how to run their organization.
Like Harvey, Fernandez is scheduled to become a free agent in 2019. Only Boras has more to protect in the case of Fernandez. When he's a free agent, he'll command a bigger contract than Harvey, who will have hit 30 by then.
The irony: The better Fernandez plays, the more likely the parties are to get into a hissy fit.
An all-star-type year from Fernandez could vault the Marlins into playoff contention. If he plays poorly, Miami has no chance of going to the postseason.
This is a prognostication, which is what we do this time of year. But if the Marlins do exceed expectations, a battle over Fernandez can make the Harvey situation look like an undercard.
If it does go down, grab your popcorn, sit back and tune in. It would be wildly entertaining.
Seth Gruen covers baseball for Bleacher Report as a national baseball columnist. Follow him on Twitter @SethGruen.
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